The African Development Bank Group has placed an 18-month ban on Sargittarius Nigeria Limited and its affiliate organizations, including Sargittarius Henan Water Conservancy Engineering Limited.

In an announcement today, August 17, 2021, the Bank Group indicated that the debarment took effect from July 28th 2021. Sargittarius Nigeria Limited is a limited liability company registered in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Findings from an investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Sargittarius Nigeria Limited engaged in fraudulent practices. Such acts were perpetuated during tenders for construction of water infrastructure in Ibadan, Nigeria, under the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the debarment renders Sargittarius Nigeria Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in the African Development Bank’s financed projects during the period of the ban.

Additionally, the Bank Group indicated that the ban qualifies for cross debarment by other multilateral development banks. This is made possible under the Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, the Bank Group noted.

Moreover, these other banks include the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.

Also, at the expiry of the debarment period, Sargittarius Nigeria Limited will only be eligible to resume participation in African Development Bank Group-financed based on one condition. The Bank Group stated that Sargittarius Nigeria Ltd. will be eligible if it implements an integrity compliance program consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.

Mandate and Strategy of the ICAD

The project under consideration is to improve access to safe water supply and sanitation services in the cities of Ibadan and Jalingo in Nigeria.

Moreover, the African Development Fund co-finances the project with the Government of Nigeria.

According to the Bank’s Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department (ICAD), “the AfDB views corruption, fraud and other sanctionable practices as highly inimical to the achievement of its mandate.”

Using a multi-pronged approach, the ICAD’s mandate adopts proactive measures including risk assessments and sensitization programmes. These are for the purposes of deter sanctionable practices and prevent their occurrence. Besides, the assessments are mostly applied in internal corporate procurement issues and operations financed by the Bank Group.

Apart from these, the ICAD’s operational responsibilities further include the employment of surveillance measures towards investigations.

“The Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department has the overriding mandate to carry out independent investigations into allegations of corruption, fraud and other sanctionable practices in Bank Group Financed Operations. ‘Bank Group Financed Operations’ are internal corporate procurement issues and operations financed by the Bank Group. ”
African Development Bank Group

Moreover, the ICAD’s strategy of executing its mandate does not include making sanctions. Where there are allegations of sanctionable practices, IACD conducts investigations. Its investigative powers promote tighter adherence to the highest standards of corporate governance and integrity.

This strategy of the ICAD is reflected in its composition comprising of two divisions namely, the Integrity and Prevention Division (IACD.1) and the Investigations Division (IACD.2).